Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend I.Khalilova / The Trade Representative of Russia to Azerbaijan, Yuri Shedrin, said that the 11th meeting of the Azerbaijani-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Economic Co-operation cannot take place before Autumn 2007.
Originally the meeting was scheduled to take place on 24 April in Moscow but this has been postponed. "The secretariats of both parties are unable to meet the deadline to co-ordinate all aspects of the meeting due to the large volume of material." he stated.
"The two countries should establish co-operation in the non-oil sector, which will cover the deficit in goods turnover that resulted from the cessation of Russian gas import to Azerbaijan,' Shedrin noted. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $1.5 bln in 2006.
Metallurgy and machinery are regarded as major prospective opportunities. However, the possibility of co-operation in the energy sector is not ruled out because Gasprom have made a new proposal on the use of the Azerbaijani gas reservoirs to ensure the southern regions receive natural gas during the winter period.